My quarter century birthday was on the 24th and it was surrounded with love. We ate home made prosciutto eggs benny at a great little bistro with bottomless mimosas and toured some gorgeous ice sculptures.
Every good day ends with soup. Ok, maybe not but this good day did and many others have so I’m sticking by that statement. This Shrimp and Shiitake Hot Pot is so simple and yummy, I love how light it is yet it still has that umami satisfaction and fills you right up. The poached egg on top adds the perfect amount of creamy richness with the dark mushroomey (is that a word?) broth.
The sun shines. I feel overflowing with gratitude, no life isn’t perfect. But there’s perfection in that very fact. There’s perfection in potential. We all hold so much potential and the more I see my own life morph into something I can feel good about, the more apparent that fact becomes.
For the first time, I kinda, sorta, feel like I have my shit together. Like I’m on the right track and everything is aligning as it should.
I was feeling very cynical this time last year, my heart was heavy and life felt wrought with unending challenges. To compare it to the light heartedness I feel now is indescribable. There are so many ups and downs in life, but there are certain things which we have the capacity to change in order to improve our situation.
I hope for all of you that the new year is unveiling new hope and joy in your hearts. It’s a nice feeling indeed when the changes we make in our lives blossom into deeper contentment.
Winter can be a really challenging time but it’s also a good time to hunker down and look within for outer inspiration. I wrote an article recently on how to cope with the winter blues, check it out if this is something you struggle with.
Ingredients
- 1 Tbs sesame oil or coconut oil
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 inch piece ginger, finely minced or grated
- 1/4 C rice wine vinegar
- 1 Tbsp coconut aminos or tamari
- 1 tsp fish sauce
- 1 Tbsp coconut sugar
- 1 thai red chili, minced or 1 tsp red chili flakes
- 2 lbs shiitake mushrooms, sliced
- 6 C chicken stock
- 1 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 1 bundle green onions, chopped
- 4 eggs
Instructions
- Heat oil in a large pot, add ginger and garlic and simmer for a minute until aromatic.
- Add rice wine vinegar and let it simmer for another minute or so before adding the coconut aminos or tamari, fish sauce, coconut sugar and chili.
- Add the mushrooms and let them cook for a bit soaking up some of the liquid.
- Add chicken stock and once the soup is simmering add the shrimp. You can also add the eggs at this point or poach them separately in a pot of boiling water with a bit of vinegar.
- The eggs and shrimp will take about 5 minutes. If you poach the eggs directly in the soup, be sure to not stir while they're cooking.
- Serve one egg per person and garnish with chopped green onions. Enjoy!
